


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: When Water Meets Fire

by Drowned_in_Feels



Category: Original Work
Genre: Coming of Age, F/M, High School, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Original Fiction, Original Universe, Screenplay/Script Format, Superpowers, X-Men Inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26529562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowned_in_Feels/pseuds/Drowned_in_Feels
Summary: In a society, in which people with special abilities (superpowers if you will) are hated and discriminated against, Alice, a 16 year old high school student, has to hide her water bending abilities from her prejudiced parents. She lives her life unnoticed until she meets Nick, another student who has the ability to bend fire. Together, they realise that in a world that is set out against them, they have no choice but to stick together.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: When Water Meets Fire

**Author's Note:**

> I took a screenplay writing class this year in university and as a final project, we had to write our own screenplays. And because I put so much work into it, I figured I might as well post it. I had never written in script format before so this was a challenge for me (and I'll probably stick to writing prose in the future). Lengthwise, this screenplay would be turned into a short film of about 25 minutes. I hope you enjoy it.

1\. INT. ALICE’S BATHROOM – MORNING

ALICE is getting ready for school in the bathroom. She has just finished brushing her teeth and puts her toothbrush away. She turns on the tap and washes her hands. She pauses and stares down at the running water pensively. She is frowning. Then she reaches her right hand under the stream so that some of the water pools in her palm. She intricately twists her fingers and the water starts to magically rise up from her hand. It forms a sort of water tower that climbs higher and higher from her palm as she continues moving her fingers. She lightly touches the water structure with the fin-gers of her left hand and gently guides the water over to her left hand. She is now holding a stream of water that is running back and forth between her two hands. She plays around with it for a while, trying to bend it into different shapes and stretching it out. She is smiling. Suddenly, there is a loud KNOCK on the BATHROOM DOOR. Alice is startled and the water falls back down into the sink.

ALICE’S MUM   
(through the door)  
Alice, you’re gonna be late for school! Other people need to use the bathroom as well!

Alice hurriedly picks up some clothes from the floor and unlocks the bathroom door.

2\. INT. BATHROOM HALLWAY – MORNING

Alice opens the bathroom door and pushes past her MUM who is standing in front of it with her arms crossed. Alice hurries down the hallway.

ALICE’S MUM  
(shouting after her)  
Your breakfast is on the kitchen counter!

3\. INT. ALICE’S KITCHEN – MORNING

Alice walks into the kitchen, wearing shoes and a jacket. Her back-pack is slung over her right shoulder. She walks to the counter and grabs a plain sandwich bag and an apple. Her DAD is sitting at the kitchen table, looking up at a small television on the wall. On screen, there is a MAN wearing a suit in front of a lot of micro-phones. He is giving a press release. 

MAN ON TV  
We here at the APWA have been fighting endlessly for equal treatment of people with abilities for the last couple of days and we are glad to report that we are finally making progress. Congress has been very forthcoming and is considering a vote on equal rights in the upcoming weeks.

MAN IN AUDIENCE ON TV  
(interrupting, off-screen)  
Piss off, mutant!

MAN ON TV  
Actually, we prefer the term “people with abilities”.

There is a commotion and the news programme cuts back to the an-chor.

ALICE’S DAD  
Can you believe it? They want to give them freaks equal rights. If you ask me, they should all be locked up. 

Alice smiles and nods at her dad. Then she puts her arm through her second backpack strap and zips up her jacket as she leaves the room. 

4\. INT. HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE LAB – MORNING

Alice is sat a high desk in Springfield Central High School’s sci-ence classroom. It is a large room that can fit up to 40 students with a high ceiling. The furniture has seen better days but is still in usable condition. The room is already full and all the students are set up for the class to start. Alice’s best friend MEL is sat next to her. Their desk is cluttered with lab equipment (multiple test tubes in a wooden holder, flasks with unidentified liquids, a Bunsen burner) as well as books, papers and pens. NICK and LUKE are sat at a desk directly behind them which is similarly cluttered. They are both wearing the school’s red varsity jackets. The classroom is quite NOISY, as everyone is CHATTING while waiting for the teacher to show up.

NICK  
Do you remember that Asian restaurant you told me about? Me and my family went there yesterday and you were so right about it. The food was incredible.

LUKE  
I told you it was awesome. Why did you go? Special occasion?

NICK  
Eliot got an A on his math test and my mom wanted to celebrate.

LUKE  
That’s great, man.

NICK  
Yeah. (laughs) I wish I was that smart in 5th grade.

LUKE  
(lightly punches his shoulder in a friendly way)  
Oh, come on, you know you’re just as smart.

We move over to Alice and Mel while Nick and Luke continue messing around and chatting inaudibly.

MEL  
(leaning in to Alice, whispering excitedly)  
Did you see the news this morning? Your people are finally gonna get equal rights!

ALICE  
I don’t believe it till the bill is actually signed.

MEL  
Oh, come on! This is good news!

ALICE  
Yeah but even if the bill is passed, it doesn’t mean that everyone is suddenly gonna be super accepting of us.

MEL  
But it’s a step forward!

ALICE  
A discussion in Congress isn’t magically gonna change people’s minds, Mel.

She looks down at the desk. Mel gently places her hand on Alice’s.

MEL  
Is everything alright? At home?

ALICE  
Just my dad. He thinks I should be locked up.

MEL  
(squeezing her hand)  
Alice, I’m so sorry.

In this moment, the SCIENCE TEACHER walks into the room, carrying a leather briefcase. Mel lets go of Alice’s hand and the room quiets down, except for Nick and Luke who continue laughing loudly.

SCIENCE TEACHER  
(sighs, points at Nick and Luke)  
I thought I told you two that I didn’t want you sitting next to each other anymore. You distract each other too much. Melanie, could you please swap seats with Nick?

The teacher gestures at Mel to get up. She shoots an apologetic look towards Alice who seems anxious. Mel grabs her book and papers from the desk, as well as her backpack and jacket and moves to the desk behind them. Nick has also gotten up reluctantly, grabbed his belongings and sat down in Mel’s seat. Alice turns around to Mel, her face is a scream for help. Mel gives her a weak smile. The teacher nods at them and moves over to a laptop that is sat on the edge of the teacher’s desk and hooked up to a projector.

SCIENCE TEACHER  
Alright, thank you two. Now, everyone, we’re continuing today where we left off yesterday. So, you should all still have the instructions for the experiment that I handed out on Monday. Please get started while I get this thing to work.

The teacher focuses on the laptop. Conversations start up in the room again as the students reluctantly get to work. Alice is sort-ing through her papers and pulls out the instructions for the task. Nick doesn’t bother looking through his materials and lazily turns to face her. Alice’s gaze stays focused on the paper in her hand.

NICK  
It’s Alice, isn’t it? I think we’re in history together as well.

ALICE  
Yeah. And algebra.

NICK  
I’m Nick by the way.

ALICE  
(hands him a pair of science goggles)  
Here, take these. Can you turn on the burner, please?

Nick takes the goggles and slowly puts them on. He looks at the burner but doesn’t touch it. He folds his hands nervously.

NICK  
Actually, uhh, would you mind (pause) if you maybe turned the burner on?

Alice looks up at Nick for the first time. She’s frowning about his uncharacteristic behaviour but she reaches for the burner and turns it on anyway. She turns around a little and shoots a puzzled glance towards Mel who has started working on the experiment with Luke. She simply shrugs before returning to her work.

5\. INT. ALICE’S LOCKER - AFTERNOON

Alice and Mel are standing in a high school hallway in front of a row of lockers. One of the lockers is open and Alice is taking a few items out and putting a few items in while Mel is leaning against the lockers next to her.

MEL  
Do you want to hang out tonight? We could go to the park.

ALICE  
I can’t. (sighs) We have that algebra test coming up and I haven’t started studying for it yet.

MEL  
You know you’re gonna ace it anyway. (pause) You can also come study at my place.

Alice is anxiously looking through her backpack and then her locker.

ALICE  
I can’t find my science book anywhere. Do you have it?

MEL  
We didn’t even sit together in science. I can’t have it. Maybe go check in the lab.  
ALICE  
Yeah, I guess I’ll have to. I’ll text you later about tonight.

Alice slams her locker shut and puts on her backpack. 

MEL  
Alright. See you later!

Alice smiles and waves goodbye to her before making her way through the hallway. Mel waves back and walks in the opposite direction.

6\. INT. HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE LAB – AFTERNOON 

Alice cautiously opens the door to the lab and walks inside. The classroom is empty and all the tables are cleared up. There are on-ly a few items on the teacher’s table: a few books and papers, as well as a bottle of water. Alice walks over to the table and picks up a book. She flips it open and at the bottom of the first page, it says “Alice Shipton” in her handwriting. She flips it shut and smiles. As she turns to leave, she accidentally knocks over the wa-ter bottle. Water spills across the table, drenching the papers as well as Alice’s science book. She panics as she moves all the items out of the water and holds them up to prevent further soaking. She helplessly looks at the items in her hands. Then she nervously glances around the room to make sure that nobody is watching her. She puts down her book and the papers and starts twisting her wrists and fingers. The water magically rises up from the table and is pulled out of the books and papers. She is holding a body of wa-ter in mid-air with her right hand while her other hand holds down the bottle. She moves her right hand towards the bottle and the wa-ter glides in smoothly. Alice smiles proudly, grabs her book and turns to leave. She stops dead in her tracks. Nick is standing in the doorway. The door is closed but his hand is still on the han-dle, like he just walked in. His mouth is agape and he is staring at Alice in disbelief. Alice is shocked and lost for words. She is stammering incomprehensively and gesturing anxiously.

ALICE  
(stammering nervously)  
Oh my god, you didn’t see that, did you? Please tell me you didn’t. Oh my god. This can’t happen. I’m gonna be so dead. You didn’t see anything, did you?

NICK  
I did see but – 

ALICE  
Oh my god. You can’t tell anyone. Just forget what you saw. Pretend it didn’t happen. Please. You have to promise me. You have to promise that you won’t tell anyone. Please, I’m begging you. Do you want money? I’ll pay you if you keep quiet! 

Alice starts fumbling in her pockets for cash. She has tears in her eyes and she is on the verge of a breakdown. Nick is trying to say something but can’t manage to interrupt Alice.

ALICE  
Please, just, please promise you won’t tell anyone. I can’t have this secret come out. I don’t know what your stance is on people with abilities but I’ll literally do anything for you if you don’t tell anyone. Please, you just have to –

NICK  
Listen! (pause) I won’t tell anyone. I actually –

Nick hesitates. Alice is staring at him bluntly. She’s still in a frenzy but she’s waiting to hear what he has to say.

NICK  
Look.

Nick raises his hand with his arm stretched out and his palm point-ing up. He hesitates. Then he snaps his fingers and a small flame appears in his hand. Alice stares at the fire in his hand in amaze-ment and disbelief. Nick glances at Alice nervously.

ALICE  
So, you’ve got -?

NICK  
Yeah.

ALICE  
I think, maybe we should talk.

7\. EXT. STAIRS IN FRONT OF SCHOOL BUILDING – AFTERNOON 

Alice and Nick are sat down on the stairs outside of the school building. Alice has her arms folded nervously in front of her chest. The school ground is completely empty and there is nobody within earshot but they still talk quietly so that nobody can hear them.

NICK  
So, what do you do? You control water?

ALICE  
Yeah, pretty much. And you control fire?

NICK  
Yeah, control it, conjure it, that sort of stuff. (leaning in) Does anybody know? You were freaking out quite a bit in there.

ALICE  
Mel knows.

NICK  
Luke knows as well. But what about your family?

ALICE  
(shaking her head)  
They’d probably kick me out if they knew, or do something even worse. My parents aren’t exactly pro-PWA.

Alice is staring down at her feet. Nick places a hand on her shoul-der empathically. She doesn’t acknowledge it but doesn’t shake it off either.

NICK  
I’m sorry to hear that.

ALICE  
What about your parents?

NICK  
They’re pretty chill about it. We just have to constantly remind my brother not to mention it accidentally. He’s only 11. But my parents are really supportive. I guess I got lucky.

They’re both quiet for a while

ALICE  
It’s weird to have this conversation.

NICK  
Yeah. Hey, do you ever get to practice? I mean, if your parents are around, I imagine it’s tough.

ALICE  
You practice?

NICK  
Yeah, of course I do. I want to get better at it so I practice a lot.

ALICE  
Sometimes I play around with it in the bathroom but I don’t really practice. I don’t really have the space.

NICK  
If you want, you can come back to mine and we can practice together. My family isn’t home at the moment anyways.

ALICE  
(hesitates, looks Nick up and down)  
Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.

8\. EXT. NICK’S BACK GARDEN – AFTERNOON

Alice and Nick are stood in Nick’s back garden. Nick’s house in the background is an ordinary-looking family home. There is a wooden patio in front of it with a barbecue and a dining area. Next to the glass door that leads inside, there is a large potted rhododendron bush. However, the bush is not looking good. It is dried out and has shrunken so that the pot almost seems comically large for it. There are barely any leaves on it and the ones that have remained are brown. The rest of the garden is a neatly mown lawn with a few trees and a little shrubbery towards the back. In contrast to the rhododendron, the grass, as well as the trees and shrubbery, are green. The whole garden is surrounded by a high wooden fence so that nobody can look inside the garden. There is a large plastic bucket of water standing next to Alice. She has her arms folded in front of her chest and seems uncomfortable. 

NICK  
(smiling excitedly)  
Alright, show me what you got!

ALICE  
Uhm, I don’t know. I kinda just –

She bends down and sticks one of her arms into the bucket of water. When she stands back up the water stays on her hand and forearm while a strand of water is still connected to the remaining water in the bucket. She separates the water connection with her other hand so that some of it falls back down while the rest remains on her hand. She is holding a ball of water in her hand and hesitates. 

ALICE  
I mean, it’s not much but –

She grabs the water with her other hand and guides it from one hand to the other. She is holding a water structure between her hands similar to the one she created in the bathroom that morning. She moves it back and forth, sort of juggling it. Then she bends it in-to different shapes before shrugging and letting it fall back into the bucket. Nick starts clapping his hands excitedly.

NICK  
That’s amazing! Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it! 

ALICE  
(quietly, looking at the ground)  
Thank you.

NICK  
Now, check this out.

Nick stands up straight and takes a deep breath. Alice is watching him intently. He snaps his fingers on his right hand and a flame appears, like earlier in the science lab. He does the same with his left hand. Then he throws both flames up in the air and catches them each with the other hand. Alice gives a little cheer. Nick throws the flame from his right hand back over to his left and the two flames become one large one. He then takes two fingers from his right hand, touches them to the flame and swipes them up and out-ward repeatedly, which creates some beautiful flaming arches. The arches are not permanent though and disappear quickly. Nick closes his left hand and the flame goes out. Alice starts applauding.

ALICE  
Wow! That was – Wow, that’s really impressive.

NICK  
(laughing)  
Well, I practiced a lot.

ALICE  
You’re so much better than me.

NICK  
I’m really not. You were amazing. How do you keep that strand of water between your hands? How does it not just fall?

ALICE  
I don’t know, I kind of just –

Alice imitates her movements from earlier. Her hands are opposed to each other and move in a wavy gesture.

NICK  
Do you think you can show me?

ALICE  
I don’t know if it’s going to work with fire.

Nick snaps his fingers and conjures a flame. He stretches out his palm and lets it grow bigger.

NICK  
Alright, what do I do?

ALICE  
Just like, reach in and pull it.

Nick puts his other hand into the flame and pulls it quickly to the side. The fire strand disappears almost immediately.

ALICE  
Maybe don’t pull it that quickly. And not that far.

Nick reaches back into the flame and pulls it apart, this time more gently and one inch at a time. It seems to be working. He looks up from his hands and smiles at Alice.

ALICE  
See, you can do it!

As Nick pulls further, the strand of fire becomes weaker. He looks at Alice for help.

ALICE  
Now, go like this.

She repeats her wavy hand movements.

NICK  
Like this?

Nick tries to imitate her gesture but accidentally flicks his wrist the wrong way. A small lash of fire whips out from the larger fire strand and catches Alice’s forearm. She yells out in pain and dou-bles over. Nick extinguishes his flames and runs over.

NICK  
Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Let me see.

Nick takes Alice’s arm that she is holding protectively in front of her body to take a look at the injury. There is a red streak across her forearm but no major scalding.

ALICE  
I’m alright. It doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s mostly the shock.

NICK  
I think we should cool it. There are some ice packs in the freezer, I can go get you one.

ALICE  
No, really, it’s fine. Look, I can just –

She reaches over to the bucket of water and uses her abilities to pull out a blob of water which she gently places on her burnt fore-arm.

ALICE  
See, everything’s fine.

As she says this, the water on her arm begins to faintly glow in a light blue colour. The red streak on her arm disappears almost im-mediately. Alice removes the water from her arm and looks at the place where she had been burnt in disbelief. Alice and Nick look at each other with shock and surprise.

NICK  
Did you – did you know you could do that?

ALICE  
(shaking her head)  
Does that mean that I can like, heal people?

NICK  
I don’t know. Apparently, yes.

In the distance, we can hear a DOOR being SLAMMED shut and the voice of NICK’S MOM shouting from inside the house.

NICK’S MOM  
(off-screen)  
Nick? We’re home!

Alice and Nick both turn towards the house, then look at each other.

NICK  
That’s my mom. Do you want to, uhh, meet my family? They’ll be really excited that I found somebody else with abilities.

ALICE  
I don’t know. I just – This is all really new to me. I’m not used to other people knowing.

NICK  
I promise you that they’ll be cool about it.

He stands up and offers her his hand to pull her up as well. She takes it and stands up.

NICK  
We don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to, of course. But you can trust them, they’ll keep your secret safe.

Alice hesitates. Nick waits for her answer

ALICE  
Yeah, okay, we can tell them.

NICK  
Great, let’s go.

They walk towards the house together.

9\. INT. NICK’S LIVING ROOM – AFTERNOON

Nick and Alice walk in from the back garden. The living room is simultaneously the dining room with an open plan kitchen. The room has a modern design with a few personal elements. There are a lot of family photos hung up on the wall. Nick’s parents and his little brother ELIOT have just walked in from a hallway on the other side of the room. Eliot is wearing a soccer jersey and looks a little sweaty. NICK’S DAD is carrying a sports bag. Nick’s parents stop in their tracks when they see Alice. Eliot runs towards Nick excited-ly.

ELIOT  
We won! 5-3!

NICK  
That’s great, buddy!

NICK’S MOM  
Hello. (smiling) Uhm, who are you?

Nick’s dad puts down the sports bag. Nick’s parents both look at Alice waiting for a reply. Alice glances up at Nick anxiously who turns towards his parents and extends an arm towards Alice.

NICK  
This is Alice. She’s a friend from school.

NICK’S MOM  
Oh, that’s nice. It’s a pleasure to have you over, Alice. I was just surprised because I hadn’t met you before.

NICK  
Well, technically, we only properly met today.

Nick’s mom frowns in confusion. Nick looks at Alice for permission. She gives him a subtle nod.

NICK  
She’s got an ability as well. And we only found out today.

Alice shoulders are tensed up. She is holding her breath. There is a short pause in which she waits for Nick’s parents reaction that feels like an eternity.

NICK’S MOM  
Oh, that’s wonderful!

She walks over to Alice and gives her a hug. Alice is shocked. Her whole body is tensed up and her eyes are wide open.

NICK’S MOM  
I’m so happy that Nick has found somebody else. You know, we try to be as supportive as we can but I’ve always wanted him to have somebody else who’s going through the same thing, you know, to talk to. Oh, this is just great!

Nick’s mom lets go of Alice and looks at her with a wide smile. Al-ice is looking for the right words to say. Her eyes are still wide open and her mouth is slightly agape. Eliot runs up to her.

ELIOT  
What can you do? Can you do cool fire tricks like Nick?

Alice collects herself and clears her throat.

ALICE  
Uhm, actually, I can control water.

Eliot runs off towards the kitchen. Nick’s mom gently touches her arm.

NICK’S MOM  
Are you alright, darling? You seem a little uncomfortable.

ALICE  
No, I’m fine. It’s just – My parents are not like you. At all.

NICK’S MOM  
Oh, did they react badly when you told them?

ALICE  
Uhm. Actually, they don’t know.

NICK’S MOM  
Oh no, I’m so sorry.

Nick’s mom pulls Alice into another embrace. This time, Alice care-fully places her hands on her back as well. This hug lasts a little longer and Alice allows herself to give in to this much needed hug. Nick’s dad walks over. His mom releases her from the hug.

NICK’S MOM  
This must be so tough for you.

NICK’S DAD  
Listen, Alice. I know we only just met you. But if you ever need a place to stay for whatever reason, you’re always welcome here.

ALICE  
(quietly, visibly moved)  
Thank you.

Eliot comes running back from the kitchen. He has a glass of water in his hands and gives it to Alice.

ELIOT  
Show me what you can do!

NICK’S DAD  
Eliot, she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to.

ELIOT  
Please!

ALICE  
Oh, it’s fine.

Alice takes the glass of water into her left hand and holds it up. She takes the index finger of her right hand and twirls it in a circular motion underneath it. The water in the glass begins to whirl around, slowly at first, then quicker. Eliot is staring at it wide-eyed.

ELIOT  
Wow!

Alice puts down the glass of water on the dining table. Nick’s parents move towards the kitchen. 

NICK’S MOM  
Alice, are you staying for dinner?

ALICE  
Uhm. I don’t know.

ELIOT  
Please stay! You can show me more of your tricks!

Alice looks over at Nick. He gives an encouraging nod.

ALICE  
Uh, yeah, okay. I’ll stay.

Eliot gives a little cheer to celebrate and then runs outside. Nick leans down to Alice.

NICK  
(whispering in Alice’s ear)  
I told you they’d be cool about it.

Alice smiles. They both follow Eliot outside.

10\. INT. ALICE’S LOCKER – MORNING

The next couple of scenes are a montage of various short moments of Alice’s and Nick’s life together. There is no audible dialogue. The scenes are set to HAPPY AND CHEERY BACKGROUND MUSIC. In this one, we see Alice putting books and other items into her school locker while Nick is leaning against the row of other lockers. He is tell-ing her a story and gesturing wildly. They are both laughing. 

11\. EXT. NICK’S BACK GARDEN – AFTERNOON

Nick and Alice are practicing their abilities in Nick’s back gar-den. Eliot is sitting in the grass and watching them excitedly. The rhododendron bush has spawned some new green leaves. Nick has his back turned towards Alice. He is holding a flame in his left hand and using his right hand to build different figures out of it but they keep going out. Alice pulls up a handful of water out of her plastic bucket and throws it against Nick’s back. He jumps and whips around in shock. Eliot laughs and falls backwards into the grass. Alice is trying to hide her laughter behind her hand. Nick pulls a fake offended face but eventually cracks a smile as well.

12\. EXT. PARK BENCH – EVENING

Nick, Alice and Mel are sat on a park bench in front of some bush-es. The sun is setting and the park is practically empty. There is a skate park in the distance with a few skaters but they are very far away. Mel is sat on the backrest of the bench, her feet next to Alice who is sitting on the bench normally with her hands folded in her lap. Nick is sat on the edge of the bench and facing Alice and Mel. He turns around to make sure that nobody is watching. He rais-es his right hand with the palm facing up and shields it from view with his left hand. Then he snaps his fingers and a flame appears. Mel’s face is wide with surprise but also joy. She jumps down from the backrest and hugs Nick energetically, almost pushing him off the bench. Over Mel’s shoulder, Nick and Alice share a look. They both smile.

13\. EXT. ROAD IN FRONT OF CITY HALL – AFTERNOON

Nick and Alice are walking through town on a sidewalk next to a busy road. They pass city hall and there is a small protest on the sidewalk in front of it. A lot of people are shouting and holding up signs. The signs say things like “MUTANTS ARE NOT PEOPLE” or “NO MUTANTS IN MY AMERICA”. There is a man in a suit on top of a flight of stairs in front of city hall who is trying to calm down the crowd but they are not listening to him. Alice slows down her steps and her face tenses up. Nick reaches for her hand and she looks at him. He smiles at her reassuringly and they continue walking closer together. They keep their heads down and push their way through the crowd holding hands.  
14\. EXT. NICK’S BACK GARDEN – EVENING/NIGHT

The sun has almost fully set and Nick and Alice are in his back garden. The rhododendron bush has regained a size suitable for its pot and it is covered in vibrant green leaves. There is a lit fire-place next to the garden fence and Alice is sitting cross-legged in front of it. Nick is standing next to the fireplace and reaching into the fire to carefully place one log of wood on top of the oth-ers. The flames are shooting up higher than needed. He sits down next to Alice and raises his hand with his palm towards the fire. He turns his wrist and the flames go down a little. He lowers his hand and puts his arm around Alice. She moves a little closer to him and leans against his shoulder.

15\. INT. ALICE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

Alice’s bedroom is both cluttered and tidy at the same time. There are no clothes on the floor but the shelves are filled with little knickknacks. The papers and folders on her desk are organised neat-ly but there are a lot of throw cushions on her bed and on the floor next to it. The main lighting is coming from a string of fairy lights above her bed. Alice is sitting on her bed with her legs pulled up to her chest. Her shoulders are shaking and her face is red. She has been crying. Alice reaches for her phone and opens her chat with Nick. She hesitates and then types: “Hey, can I call you? Just kind of need someone to talk.” She hits send and puts her phone down. Not even seconds later, her screen lights up and Nick’s name pops up. He’s calling her. Her mouth twists into a weak smile and she answers it.

16\. INT. HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY – AFTERNOON

Nick and Luke are sat opposite from each other at a table in the school library. They are surrounded by high shelves filled with books. Luke has a book and some papers in front of him that he is focusing on. Nick also has a notepad in front of him but he is looking at his phone. A text from Alice pops up: “This afternoon at your place?” Nick smiles. Luke looks up from his studying and looks at him questioningly. Nick briefly glances up at him but doesn’t respond. He goes to type a reply to Alice when Luke snatches his phone from his hands. Nick protests and tries to get it back but Luke is holding it out of his reach. He scrolls through Nick’s and Alice’s chat and quickly looks at her profile picture. Then he tosses Nick’s phone back to him and raises his eyebrows knowingly. Nick catches his phone. He blushes and seems a little embarrassed. Luke smirks and nods approvingly before returning to the papers in front of him.

17\. EXT. NICK’S BACK GARDEN – AFTERNOON

Nick and Alice are practicing their abilities in Nick’s back gar-den. The sun is shining. The rhododendron bush is in full bloom. Its deep purple petals are covering it almost entirely. Alice is repeatedly pulling water out of a bucket and throwing it at Nick. Nick is conjuring large strands of fire and whipping them against the water, which makes the water evaporate and disappear into mist. They are both smiling and having fun. Nick’s mom appears in the doorway to the living room, wearing an apron. She waves for both of them to come inside. Nick turns and walks towards the house while Alice drops the water in her hands back into the bucket. She pauses and has a look around the garden with a huge smile on her face. For the first time in many years, she feels content. Then she follows Nick inside the house.

18\. INT. ALICE’S LOCKER – MORNING

The montage is over. Alice and Mel are stood in the school hallway in front of Alice’s locker. Other students are passing by. There is CHATTER and LAUGHTER. Alice puts in the combination to her locker and opens the door. She takes out a book and puts it in her back-pack while Mel is leaning against the lockers next to her.

MEL  
Do you want to hang out tonight? We could go to the movies.

ALICE  
I don’t know. I was gonna be over at Nick’s for dinner tonight.

MEL  
You’re at Nick’s almost every day. We haven’t been to the movies in ages!

ALICE  
Yeah, you’re right. (pause) I’ll text him I can’t make it tonight. What movie do you want to see?

Luke emerges from the crowd of passing students and approaches Alice and Mel.

LUKE  
Hey, how are you doing?

ALICE  
Hi.

MEL  
What’s up?

LUKE  
(turning to Alice)  
Listen, Alice. I just wanted to thank you for trusting me with your secret. Nick told me and I promise it’s safe with me. I’ll tell nobody. I actually think it’s pretty cool that you two found somebody with similar – 

ALICE  
Wait a second. Nick told you what?

LUKE  
You know about your –

Luke gestures. Alice is staring at him in wide-eyed panic. He leans in and speaks quietly so that nobody passing by can hear him.

LUKE  
About your ability.

Alice is lost for words and staring at him in shock. Mel places her hand on Alice’s arm in empathy.

LUKE  
Is everything, uhh, alright?

ALICE  
I – I didn’t give Nick permission to tell you.

LUKE  
Oh. (pause) I thought you were cool with it. Uhh, I mean with me knowing.

ALICE  
I wasn’t.

LUKE  
Uhm, okay. I’m sorry. (scratching his head) I can’t, like, forget that I know but I can pretend I don’t. 

ALICE  
That’s not the issue.

LUKE  
And I have to apologise. I really thought that you had told him that you were fine with it. And I promise that you can trust me. I’ve kept Nick’s thing a secret for years. And I won’t ever tell anybody unless you tell me to.

Alice is visibly upset. She’s breathing heavy and holding onto her locker door for support. She’s looking at the floor.

ALICE  
Luke, this isn’t about you. I think you’re a trustworthy person and all that. It’s just that I barely know you and I think eventually I would have definitely given my okay to tell you. But I just hadn’t given it yet. And I’m just so confused why Nick would do something like that. Like, this is such a big deal.

LUKE  
Again, I’m sorry, Alice. I didn’t mean to hurt you and I’m sure he didn’t either.

ALICE  
Yes, it’s fine, Luke. Can you maybe just, leave me alone for a bit? I think I gotta go find Nick.

LUKE  
Okay. I’ll just – Bye.

Luke leaves with an apologetic and tense look on his face. Alice turns to Mel. Her face is quivering.

ALICE  
I just don’t understand why he would go behind my back like that. He knows that this is, like, a sensitive topic, you know because of my parents and all that.

Mel  
Maybe he just didn’t think it through.

ALICE  
But this is not the kind of thing that you can just not think through! Why would he do that?

MEL  
I think you gotta ask him that yourself.

ALICE  
Yeah, you’re right.

She slams her locker shut and pulls out her phone as she turns to walk off. She waves goodbye to Mel.

MEL  
Good luck.

19\. EXT. STAIRS IN FRONT OF SCHOOL BUILDING – MORNING

Nick and Alice are standing on the stairs in front of their school. There are a few students around but none too close. Occasionally, somebody walks past them to enter the building but most students are already inside because class is about to begin. Nick is stand-ing higher up on the stairs so Alice is speaking up at him. She has her arms crossed angrily in front of her chest.

ALICE  
I cannot believe that you told Luke.

NICK  
Come on, Luke is a friend. You know him.

ALICE  
I’ve only met him a couple of times. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy. I like hanging out with him. But I wasn’t ready for him to know!

NICK  
Alice, calm down. I don’t see what the big issue is. Mel knows about my thing as well!

ALICE  
Yes but you told her yourself!

NICK  
And you were fine with telling my parents!

ALICE  
Yes but I gave my permission to tell them. You asked and I said I was fine with it. You did not ask if it was okay for you to tell Luke.

NICK  
I guess I just kind of assumed that it was fine because my parents knew as well and, you know, I trust Luke.

ALICE  
This is not about Luke. This is about you breaking my trust.

NICK  
(raises his hands)  
Woah, calm down.

ALICE  
No! You knew full well that this was a sensitive subject because of what my parents are like. You knew that it’s difficult for me to be open about this. I trusted you with this secret and you just went and threw that trust out the window.

NICK  
Do you think all of this is easy for me? Do you think I don’t struggle? Luke is one of the very few people that I can talk openly with and yeah, I don’t like keeping secrets from him.

ALICE  
But it wasn’t your secret to share! And I can’t believe that you won’t even admit that you did something wrong!

NICK  
Because I don’t understand why this is such an issue for you!

ALICE  
(voice breaking)  
Honestly, I’m not sure if I can trust you again!

NICK  
Oh, come on, Alice, stop overreacting! Just because you have trust issues, it doesn’t mean that you get to take your insecurities out on me.

Alice goes quiet and looks up at him with a blank stare. He looks back at her in anger. She looks down and shakes her head.

ALICE  
I think this is it, Nick. I can’t trust you anymore and I don’t want to see you again.

She tries to walk past him into the school building but he grabs her arm and holds her back.

NICK  
Wait, what do you mean?

ALICE  
I mean, I don’t want to see you anymore, I don’t want to hang out with you and I don’t want to talk to you. From here on out, just leave me alone.

She shakes off his hand and continues walking into the building.

NICK  
No, wait, Alice, you can’t do this. Wait, I’m sorry.

Alice doesn’t look back. The door swings shut behind her and Nick is left on the stairs outside with a helpless look on his face.

20\. INT. NICK’S LIVING ROOM – EVENING

Nick is sat on the couch in his living room. It’s raining outside. He has his phone in his hand but is looking outside at the back garden. The rhododendron bush is getting drenched in the rain. The leaves are hanging down under the weight of the rain. A few of the purple petals break off from their stalks and slowly float down to the ground. Nick looks down at his phone and scrolls through his chat with Alice. He has sent her dozens of messages today but she hasn’t replied. His messages say things like: “Alice, I’m sorry.”, “I understand now that I shouldn’t have told him.”, “I was wrong.”, “Please reply.”, “Listen, I need you in my life and I feel like you need me too. I can’t give up on this.” and “Please pick up the phone. I just want to talk.” Nick’s facial expression is anxious and upset. He looks back up to the back garden.

21\. INT. ALICE’S BEDROOM – EVENING

Alice is sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She has been crying. She opens her phone and scrolls through Nick’s messages. She hesitates. Then, she opens the contact menu and her thumb hovers over the “blocking” option. She presses the button and blocks his number. Then she throws her phone towards the end of her bed and rolls over to press her face into her pillow.

22\. INT. ALICE’S LOCKER – MORNING

Alice is stood in front of her locker with a tense look on her face. She is slowly taking out a few items out of the locker and pushing them into her backpack. Mel is leaning against the row of lockers next to her. Alice is not facing her but staring straight into her locker.

MEL  
(empathetically)  
Do you want to come to my place tonight? Maybe we can distract you a bit from, (pause) you know.

ALICE  
(takes a deep breath, quietly)  
Yeah, I think that would be nice.

MEL  
Maybe we can just a watch a movie. Or do some pampering. Oh, I’ve got this new face mask that I’ve been dying to try out!

Alice gives a weak smile. Suddenly, Mel stands up straight and leans in closer to Alice.

MEL  
(whispering)  
He’s coming down the hallway.

Alice leans back and glances around her locker door to see Nick walking down the hallway in their direction. When he sees her he raises his hand to greet her and starts approaching her. His face is pained. Alice quickly hides behind her locker door.

ALICE  
(quietly)  
I don’t want to see him.

Mel pushes herself off the row of lockers and moves to stand in front of Alice. She crosses her arms and stares at Nick assertively. She firmly shakes her head no. Nick stops in his tracks. He looks at what he can see of Alice behind her locker door, then back at Mel. His face tenses up, then he looks down at the floor and continues walking down the hallway past them. Alice comes out behind the door and gives Mel a quick hug.

ALICE  
Thank you.

23\. EXT. NICK’S BACK GARDEN – AFTERNOON

Nick is practicing his ability. Eliot is sitting in the grass and watching him. The rhododendron bush has lost almost all of its pet-als. The leaves are still green but the bush has developed a few rough patches. Nick has a stern look on his face. He has his hands pressed together and repeatedly pulls them apart. He is trying to conjure a strand of fire that connects both of his hands but it keeps going out. He is getting more and more frustrated.

ELIOT  
Why isn’t Alice with us today?

NICK  
She doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.

ELIOT  
Why?

NICK  
It’s complicated.

ELIOT  
Tell me!

NICK  
No.

ELIOT  
Come on, tell me!

NICK  
Don’t you have something better to do?

ELIOT  
I’ve finished my homework already and there’s nothing on TV.

Nick doesn’t respond. He attempts the trick again and the flame holds for a second longer between his hands but then goes out again. He exclaims in frustration.

ELIOT  
Maybe Alice could help you with this.

NICK  
Just drop it, okay?!

As he angrily says these words, he pulls his hands apart and pro-duces a large flame that lashes out and catches Eliot’s leg. He yells out in pain and Nick rushes over. There is a nasty burn mark covering almost his entire calf. Eliot is crying. Nick panics.

NICK  
It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s gonna be fine. Eliot, I’m so sorry.

Eliot continues crying loudly and hysterically. Nick looks around for help but there is nobody there. 

NICK  
I’m so sorry. Oh my god, what do I do?

Eliot’s crying becomes quieter but the tears keep streaming down his cheeks. He grabs onto Nick’s arms tightly and doesn’t let go. He looks up at Nick for help while sobbing uncontrollably.

24\. INT. ALICE’S FRONT DOOR – AFTERNOON

We see the front door of Alice’s house from the inside. It’s a plain wooden door at the end of a long hallway. There are a few coats hanging next to the door and a small table with a lamp and some keychains on it. The DOORBELL RINGS. We see Alice walking to the door and opening it. Stood on her porch is Nick with a barely conscious Eliot in his arms. The burn injury on his leg is clearly visible. Nick looks at her with desperation. Alice is taken by sur-prise.

NICK  
I know you said you didn’t want to see me again. And I wouldn’t have come here if I had any other choice. But I really need your help. You don’t have to forgive me and I’m – I’m sorry for coming here but I had nowhere else to turn. My parents aren’t home and I can’t go to the hospital because they would ask what happened and I can’t tell them. I’m begging you, Alice, I just need your help. Please, I don’t know what to do and –

Alice gestures for him to shut up. He looks at her with pleading eyes.

ALICE  
You need to be quiet. My parents are home.

ALICE’S DAD  
(shouting from off-screen)  
Alice? Who is it?

ALICE  
(shouting over her shoulder)  
It’s just somebody from school.

She looks at Nick and hesitates.

NICK  
(whispering)  
Please.

Alice motions for him to stand back a bit and then steps outside. 

25\. EXT. OUTSIDE ALICE’S HOUSE – AFTERNOON

Alice gently shuts the door behind her. 

ALICE  
What do you want me to do?

NICK  
Remember when I burned your arm and you put some water on it and it glowed and then it was all magically healed? I was hoping you could do the same for his leg. 

ALICE  
We don’t even know what happened that day! We never tested that again and this is much worse.

She gestures at Eliot’s leg. Nick shifts his weight in his arms.

NICK  
I know but I don’t really have any other options. Please, Alice, we have to at least try. Then you can go back to being mad at me and I promise I’ll leave you alone forever.

Alice sighs. She walks past Nick with Eliot in his arms and ges-tures for him to follow her. We see the house from the outside. It is a small two-story house that hasn’t been repainted in many years. There is a front yard with a few bushes and trees that could use a trim but nothing looks too unkept. Alice and Nick walk across the driveway where an old SUV is parked. A fence separates the driveway from the neighbour’s property. On the other side of the car, there is a small flowerbed that runs along the fence down to the road. On the corner of the flowerbed, there is a plastic water-ing can. Alice crouches down and Nick follows suit, gently setting down Eliot on the ground. Eliot winces and Nick sits behind him to support his body and make him as comfortable as possible. The car shields them from view, in case somebody would come out of the house. Alice shakes her head.

ALICE  
I don’t know if this is going to work at all but I’ll try.

Alice reaches into the watering can with both hands and pulls up two handfuls of water. She hesitates and glances up at Nick. 

ALICE  
I don’t even know how I made that happen last time.

NICK   
You just kind of put some water on it and then it glowed.

Alice nods. Then she gently places both of her hands with water on Eliot’s burnt leg. He winces. Nick puts a hand on his chest to com-fort him. At first, the blob of water on his leg does nothing. Al-ice shoots a worried glance up at Nick who is frowning. Then, the water begins to glow, faintly at first and then stronger. Eliot shifts around in discomfort.

ELIOT  
(quietly, with pain in his voice)  
Ow, that hurts.

NICK  
It’s alright, buddy. It’s gonna be fine.

Alice focuses on his leg. Slowly, the injury begins to heal. It doesn’t magically disappear like Alice’s burn mark but the skin visibly changes under the glowing water. The dark red from before turns into a lighter shade of red and the skin is rebuilding. Alice sighs with relief.

NICK  
Thank you, Alice. Genuinely, thank you. You’re incredible. I don’t think I can ever make this up to you but just know that if you ever need anything, I’m there for you. Wow, this is just- Thank you.

ALICE  
Nick?

NICK  
Yeah?

Alice carefully lifts one hand off of Eliot’s leg, making sure that she can control the glowing water with just one hand. Then she reaches up for Nick’s hand and takes it. She looks at his face, squeezes his hand and smiles. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to, it’s all in her face. She knows that there are problems between them but she cannot face this life alone anymore. She for-gives him for telling Luke her secret because she needs Nick just as much as he needs her. And while they do have some stuff to fig-ure out, they are in this together.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I don't think anybody on AO3 is going to read this, simply because it's not the place for original screenplays but if you've read this to the end, thank you. I genuinely appreciate it. Please also consider leaving some feedback. <3


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